Jailed for four years

'Head injury not survivable'

The judge said that Bennison left Mr Shipway semi-conscious but he was unaware of how seriously the victim was injured.“The head injury was not survivable and he died a week later,” said Mr Justice Goss.

14:15

Jury returns to court

The jury has also returned to court for the sentencing.Mr Justice Goss told Bennison: “You lost your temper and punched him.“This was a spontaneous offence committed in circumstances that were not of your making.”

14:09

Family in court

In court for the sentencing were Christopher Shipway’s two younger brothers, Daniel and Simon Shipway, with their wives Clair, who is married to Daniel, and Claire, who is married to Simon.

14:08

Judge returns to court

Red-robed High Court judge Mr Justice Goss returned to court to sentence Bennison after earlier hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence.Bald-headed Bennison appeared in the dock wearing the same bottle green jumper that he has worn for the last three days.On the first day, he wore a long-sleeved grey sweatshirt.When the guilty verdict was announced by the jury foreman, he looked upwards and shook his head slightly

13:31

'I didn't want to hit him'

Bennison told the jury: “I have hit him. It’s just been an instant reaction thing.”He claimed: “I didn’t want to hit him. I didn’t even know that I was going to hit him.“I felt like I had no choice but to hit him to get my point across.“That fatal blow has haunted me for the last six months and it has broken my heart.”Bennison told police: “He came over being all aggressive. I have got him screaming in my face.”

13:30

Awaiting sentence

Mark Bennison has been found guilty of manslaughter (Image: Humberside Police )

Marc Bennison will be sentenced this afternoon

13:28

Defendant sorry for his actions

Bennison was sorry for his actions and for the effect on Mr Shipway’s family and said in court that he “wished he could have taken it all back”.Mr Bailey added: “This whole thing has broken his heart.“Those are words from the heart - not a man prone to sugar-coating things.”Bennison tried his best to defuse the situation by repeatedly asking him to leave.“Nothing was working,” said Mr Bailey. “It wasn’t stopping. He had tried everything.“He got his blow in first. He threw a weak single punch. There was no follow-up. There was no further punch. There was no kick.“This was a classic case of self-defence. There almost could not be a better example of it.”

13:27

'Whatever your verdict, it cannot bring Mr Shipway back to us'

Defence barrister Andrew Bailey claimed in his closing speech that Bennison was not shedding “crocodile tears” when he got upset in court.“Whatever your verdict, it cannot bring Mr Shipway back to us,” said Mr Bailey.“Marc Bennison has to live with that for the rest of his life.“He is carrying that burden now and has been throughout the trial.“These aren’t crocodile tears. They are real.”

13:26

'Aggressive and snarly'

Mr Evans claimed that Bennison gave “aggressive snarly” answers to questions in court when being cross-examined.Bennison tried to “pull the wool over your eyes” during his evidence.

12:56

CCTV released of incident

A still from CCTV of the incident in Grimsby Town Centre (Image: Humberside Police)

Humberside Police has released CCTV of the incident in Old Market Place

12:54

Victim - Christopher Shipway

Christopher Shipway

12:52

'All so unnecessary'

Prosecutor Jeremy Evans told the jury in his closing speech: “This was all so unnecessary. This defendant had had a bellyful and lost his temper. “He simply snapped and lost his temper. Christopher Shipway didn’t stand a chance.

“He scarpered and left the area.”

12:51

Bennison 'scarpered' from scene

Bennison walked away and “scarpered” from the scene.

Mr Shipway, 46, of Cromwell Road, Grimsby, died of unsurvivable brain injuries at Hull Royal Infirmary six days later on September 1.

The defence claimed that Bennison acted in self-defence.

12:50

Lost his temper

The court had heard Bennison had asked Mr Shipway him for cash minutes earlier and allegedly lost his temper and lashed out because he had “had a bellyful” of the other man’s hostile attitude towards him, the court heard.

Mr Shipway had been drinking and was “merry” before he told the homeless man that he did not have to live on the streets because help was available.